Stockholm (NordSIP) – Lyxor Asset Management has announced that its green bond ETF has surpassed €300 million in assets under management (AUM), becoming the most significant green bond ETF by that metric.
The Lyxor Green Bond (DR) UCITS ETF – Acc was launched in February 2017 and tracks the Solactive Green Bond EUR USD IG index. It invests in investment-grade green bonds denominated in euros and US dollars issued by supranationals, local authorities, corporations, banks and development banks to finance environmental projects or assets. Relevant fields of intervention include clean energy, energy-efficient buildings, transport and water. Green bonds eligible for the index are approved independently by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI). They must finance activities covered by Climate Bond Taxonomy and meet Climate Bond Standards criteria. Lyxor’s green bond ETF is listed on the leading European stock exchanges and charges fees of 0.25% on assets under management.
“At Lyxor, we made the decision more than ten years ago to put socially responsible investment at the heart of our investment strategy,” says François Millet (Pictured), Head of ESG, Strategy and Innovation for Lyxor ETF. “We are convinced ETFs can help investors to achieve their environmental goals. ETFs are, by their very nature, transparent, simple and fact-based – characteristics that align with ESG priorities. We are proud that a product as innovative as our Green Bond ETF has reached EUR 300 million in assets under management within three years.”
Lyxor is a Societe Generale company with €153.4 billion in assets under management. Lyxor manages over €2 billion in its ESG range. The Lyxor Green Bond (DR) UCITS ETF – Acc has earned the Greenfin label created by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition and Solidarity in late 2015 to certify investment funds’ green credentials.
Lyxor’s green bond ETF, as well as the green bond market as a whole, has benefitted from an increased interest in sustainable investments since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. According to Lyxor, ESG ETFs were able to raise €1 billion in Europe when the markets bottomed in March and had attracted more than €10 billion by the end of May. Green bonds did particularly well. Estimates from the CBI suggest green bonds issuance could reach US$350 billion by the end of 2020, up sharply from USD 257.5 billion in 2019.
Image Courtesy of Lyxor
